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The Invisible String Theory: Cute TikTok Trend or Real?

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CU Boulder chapter.

“The invisible string theory is the idea that the universe itself is stitched together with unseen threads, all of which lead us to our destinies.” In a romantic sense, it is the idea that there are different events that connect you to who you are meant to be with. For example, you and your fated might eat at the same restaurant every week, or you might stop at the same coffee shop every morning, but the timing had never been right so you never met. Only when the timing is right will something happen for your paths to cross. Maybe your alarm didn’t go off that morning, so you are running late. Because of this, you get to the coffee shop later than usual, which just so happens to be the time they usually go. Just like that, you run into each other and finally meet. 

This became a relevant and more popular idea after a trend on TikTok. This trend would usually include a couple showing how, after being together for years, they looked back on family vacation photos from their childhood and they would spot their now significant other in the background.  Maybe before you knew each other, you would pass each other on the sidewalk and never say hi until you bumped into each other somewhere else. The thought is that everything happens when it is supposed to happen, and people can be connected in an unseen way. It includes soulmates and having someone that you are destined to be with. 

The Invisible String Theory is very similar to the Red String Theory. The Red String Theory comes from Chinese folklore and is slightly different in the fact that it believes that two people who are “true lovers” have an invisible red cord that connects them, and if something ever separates them, they will find their way back to each other. Even time, distance, or unforeseen obstacles can never fully separate them. This theory dates far back into Chinese mythology and was rebranded into the new Invisible String Theory back in 2020. Taylor Swift is credited with bringing the trend to TikTok with her song “Invisible String” from her Folklore album. The song was used as the background of many of the videos and brought the idea back to the mainstream.

These ideas follow similar concepts to having a soulmate or a twin flame. While you might think of them as the same thing, there is actually a difference. A soulmate is said to be someone who makes you feel as though your soul has a home. It is someone who makes you feel so seen, heard, and comfortable that you feel as though no one else could ever compare. Even with this, it is said that you can have multiple soulmates during your lifetime. While soulmates have been extra romanticized throughout romance books and movies, it does not have to be romantic. Many people call their best friend their platonic soulmate. Along with that, you could feel very at home and heard in a relationship, but in the future, something might change that. But with a twin flame, it is said that they are the other half of your soul. While a soulmate can support you during your life in different ways, your twin flame helps you learn more about yourself and grows with you.

These thoughts are not scientifically proven, but I think that they are very fun things to think about. As a hopeless romantic myself, I think it is something very comforting and nice to believe. I think it is really nice to think that there is someone out there tied to you and that when the time is right, you will meet. Whether it is a real thing or just a cute TikTok trend, it is a theory that has been passed down for generations and will continue on.

Ava O'Brien

CU Boulder '27

Ava O'Brien is a sophomore and a contributing writer at the Her Campus Chapter of the University of Colorado at Boulder. She is looking forward to writing profiles on different local businesses and covering varying topics included in pop culture while including her own personal thoughts and experiences. Aside from working as a part of Her Campus, Ava is majoring in Business Administration with an emphasis in Real Estate. She has loved writing for the majority of her life and enjoyed doing Yearbook in junior high and high school while working as the copy editor in high school. While mainly working on fictional pieces for herself in her free time, she is now looking forward to expanding her knowledge of writing articles and doing profiles on individuals and businesses. Ava is originally from Kansas and loves being able to see the mountains every morning. Traveling is a big passion of hers and she wishes to visit all seven continents in her life. She also loves reading all the romance tropes out there, going to concerts, finding new and exciting activities to do with her friends, spending too much money on her shopping trips, and hyper fixating on whatever her hobby of the week is.